TN to compensate AAI if Parandur airport is operational before footfalls at city airport rise

Chennai: The state govt has agreed to compensate Airports Authority of India (AAI) if the proposed greenfield airport at Parandur becomes operational before passenger movement at Chennai International Airport reaches the targeted 35 million passengers per annum (MPPA).During the steering committee meeting on March 12 in New Delhi, AAI chairman Vipin Kumar, while supporting the proposal for the Parandur airport, said AAI should be compensated by the Tamil Nadu govt since the proposed airport is within a 150km radius of Chennai airport.Minutes of the meeting of the steering committee are now available in the public domain. In these, the AAI chairman cited the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) and said the state govt should compensate AAI if the Parandur airport becomes operational before Chennai airport reaches its target of 35 MPPA.The compensation can be mutually decided when the need arises, it said. Chennai airport currently handles 30 million passengers annually. Authorities hope the influx will increase to 35 million with the completion of phase II of the international terminal. However, the state govt did agree to the AAI Chairman's request to give assent to the construction of a new terminal at Chennai airport and an additional land allocation of 90 acres for the expansion of the cargo terminal.The greenfield airport in Parandur, which is to be developed in four phases at an estimated 27,000 crore, is expected to have its first phase completed in 2028.Tidco, the state nodal agency, has said the airport will handle 20 million passengers annually after the first phase is completed. However, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), which was also part of the steering committee, said the proposed size of the terminal building in the first phase (3.5lakh sqm) cannot handle so many passengers. "The number varies from the stipulated norms of the International Air Transport Association's Airport Development Reference Manual," it said, recommending further optimisation of the proposed aeronautical infrastructures to keep tariffs levied on airlines under control.